SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL MONOGRAPHS 

Published in conjunction with 

THE SCHOOL REVIEW and THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL 



Vol.1 
No. 6 



September, 1917 
Whole No. 6 



SURVEY of the KINDERGARTENS 
of RICHMOND, INDIANA 



By 
ALICE TEMPLE 




THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 

CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 



Agents 

THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, London and Edinburgh 

THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA, Tokyo. Osaka. Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sendai 

THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY. Shanghai 



PUBLICATIONS EDITED BY THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL 
OF EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 




JOINT EDITORIAL COMMITTEE 

CHARLES HUBBARD JUDD, Chairman 
Articles and Editorials of The School Review Articles and Editorials of The Elementary 

ROLLO LA VERNE LYMAN School Journal 

KKANKLIN WINSLOW JOHNSON FRANK NUGENT FREEMAN 

HARRY ORRLNf GILLET 
Reviews 

HAROLD ORDWAY RUGG Supplementary Educational Monographs 

ROLLA MILTON TRYON WILLIAM SCOTT GRAY 



THE COURSE 0/ STUDY 

0/ the Laboratory Schools of the School 
of Education of the University of Chicago 

HE course of study in schools is in constant process of 
enlargement and improvement. Methods of instruction 
are changing, and the subjects taught in classes must 
be enlarged so as to include all the suggestions that have 
been tried out and found to be of genuine value for the 
education of children. 

For some years past all the members of the Faculties of the High School 
and the Elementary School of the University of Chicago have been work- 
ing on the course of study. The results of their labors will appear from 
time to time during the next two years in the School Review, the 
Elementary School Journal, and in Supplementary Educational Mono- 
graphs, edited by the School of Education of the University of Chicago. 

This is not a body of theoretical material; it represents the actual 
practices of departments in these schools. It is not a hastily prepared 
statement of suggestions that are to be tried out. For a period of years 
each department has been revising and re-revising its course of study. 
The work is a democratic product in which all the teachers of these 
schools have participated. 

The course of study will be published in departmental sections. It will 
be subject, as the work of these schools goes forward, to enlargement 
and revision, but in its present form it is believed that it will be 
suggestive to other teachers and school officers. 

Subscription rates have been arranged for the two journals and the 
supplementary monographs. If the journals are taken separately, the 
price of subscription is $1.50 each. If the monographs are taken by 
the volume, each volume to be completed in one year and to contain 
approximately one thousand pages, the subscription price will be $5.00 
with an additional cost of 50 cents for postage. A combination of all 
three pubHcations is offered for $6.00 plus 50 cents for postage on the 
monographs. Either one of the journals with one volume of the mono- 
graphs is offered at $5.50 plus 50 cents postage for the monographs. 




I. KiNDERHAUS OR SCREEN PlAY-HoUSE 




2. Interior of Kinderhaus with Block Furniture 



SEP 10 1917 



SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL MONOGRAPHS 

Puhlithcd in conjunction with 

THE SCHOOL REVIEW and THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL 

Vol. I September. 1917 

No. 6 Whole No. 6 



SURVEY of the KINDERGARTENS 
of RICHMOND, INDIANA 



By 
ALICE TEMPLE 




THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 






Copyright 1917 By 
The UNivERSixy of Chicago 



All Rights Reserved 



Published September 1917 



SEP loier/ 

kl.A47S409 



Composed and Printed By 

The University of Chicago Press 

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 



"He / 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Prefatory Statement v 

CHAPTER 

I. The Kindergartens i 

II. Room Equipment 8 

III. The Teachers 15 

IV. The Relation betwieen the Kindergarten and the First Grade 23 

V. Curriculum and Methods of the Kindergarten 27 

1. Subject-Matter and Methods 27 

2. Manual Activities 31 

3. Language and Literature 38 

4. Physical Activities 45 

5. Music 50 

Bibliography 54 



PREFATORY STATEMENT 

The material for this report has been gathered from the following 
sources : 

1. Observations made during visits to the schools January 17-20 
and February 12-16, inclusive. Each visit was from one to one and 
one-half hours in length, and each of the eight kindergartens was 
visited twice. All of the first primary grades were visited also. 

2. Written answers to questions asked of all the kindergarten 
and first-primary teachers. 

3. Five afternoons spent in conference with the teachers and 
several individual conferences with the teachers and the super- 
visor of manual arts. 

4. Information supplied by the superintendent. 

5. The course of study for the kindergartens printed in the 
Superintendent's Report of igi2. 

Without the friendly co-operation of all the persons concerned 
the task would have been far more difficult. The teachers were 
most cordial in their classrooms and more than willing to give to 
the conferences all the time that was asked. 

Many of the suggestions given in this report were discusse(^ 

quite fully and frankly in the conferences, and some of them have 

already been acted upon. It is hoped that when the report reaches 

the teachers it will be received by them in the friendly spirit which 

characterized the conferences. 

Alice Temple 



CHAPTER I 
THE KINDERGARTENS 

History of the kindergarten in Richmond. — Richmond may well 
be proud of the way in which it has for so many years provided for 
its children of kindergarten age. Prior to 1880 St, Louis was the 
only city in the United States having kindergartens maintained 
at public expense. Between 1880 and 1890 the kindergarten was 
adopted by twenty-five other cities. Richmond was one of these. 

Of the cities in the state Richmond was the second to give 
public support to the kindergarten. Laporte was the first. The 
example of these two progressive cities has made an impression on 
the state, as is shown by the fact that in 19 14 there were twenty- 
three cities in Indiana supporting public kindergartens.^ Nine of 
the eighteen cities having a population of from 10,000 to 25,000 
and all of the cities with a population of over 25,000, except Indian- 
apolis, have incorporated the kindergarten as a part of the public- 
school system. Doubtless the failure of Indianapolis to adopt the 
kindergarten is due to the fact that there are in that city thirty-two 
free kindergartens supported by the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten 
and Children's Aid Society.^ 

Compared to the neighboring states — Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa — 
Indiana is superior in the number of cities having a population of 
10,000 or more which give public support to the kindergarten. 
Compared to Michigan and Wisconsin, the showing is not so favor- 
able. The last-named states are two of the five states in the 
country having the largest number of cities in which public kinder- 
gartens have been adopted. New York, New Jersey, and Massa- 
chusetts are the other three. Table I gives the figures for the West 
Central states. 

The kindergarten has become a part of the public-school system 
of Richmond, as it has of most other cities, through the efforts of 

' Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1914. 
= U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 19 14, No. 6. 

I 



2 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

private philanthropy. The first kindergarten was established by 
the Richmond Kindergarten Association in 1887.' Two years later 
its support was assumed by the Board of School Trustees, and since 
1905 there has been a kindergarten in each of the district schools 
having primary grades, with the exception of the recently opened 
Joseph Moore School. This is a small school of four grades. There 
are not enough children of kindergarten age in the district to war- 
rant the opening of a kindergarten. The few who are eligible for 
the kindergarten are admitted to the Baxter School in an adjoining 
district. 

TABLE I 

Six West Central States with the Total NtnasER of Cities in Each Having a 

Population of 10,000 or More, Together with the Number of Such 

Cities Having Public Kindergartens 





Cities of 10,000 to 23,000 


Cities of 25,000 and Over 


States 


Total Number 


Number with 
Kindergartens 


Total Number 


Number with 
Kindergartens 


Indiana 


18 
23 
19 
9 
13 
10 


9 

5 

4 

4 

12 

9 


5 
14 
12 

8 

10 

8 


4 
7 
3 

5 
7 
8 


Ohio 


Illinois 


Iowa 


Michigan 

Wisconsin 



Enrolment. — ^The total enrolment in the Richmond kinder- 
gartens January i, 1917, was 285. This is 80 per cent of the esti- 
mated number of pupils entering school each year. The enrolment 
in a single school varies from 27 to 58. The Starr School being 
omitted, the largest number of children in any school is 37. This 
is as large a number of children as one teacher can handle and do 
good work. The problem of taking care of the much larger number 
of children attending the Starr School is solved by holding an after- 
noon session for those who are not admitted to the morning session. 

Age of admission and promotion. — ^The children are received in 
the kindergarten between the ages of four and one-half and six 
years. They have from four to fourteen months of kindergarten 
training, depending upon the age at which they enter. The major- 

' Report of the Public Schools of the City of Richmond, Indiana, 191 2. 



THE KINDERGARTENS 3 

ity have ten months, or one school year. The children are generally 
promoted into the first grade on the first promotion date after they 
have reached the sixth birthday. According to the Indiana state 
law, children under six years of age may not enter the first grade, 
but, since the compulsory school age is seven, children may be 
retained in the kindergarten beyond the age of six, if they are 
sufficiently immature to make a longer period of kindergarten train- 
ing desirable. The law is thus favorable to the slow children, but 
it may do injustice to the bright ones, as will be indicated below. 

Nationalities represented in the kindergartens. — Table II shows 
the distribution of the children in the different schools and the 
number and percentage of nationalities represented. 

Nearly 70 per cent of the children are of American parentage. 
Of the other 30 per cent, 6 per cent are half-American and 4 per cent 
Negro. In the remaining 20 per cent eight different nationalities 
are represented, the largest being German, about 8 per cent, and 
the next largest Italian, 5 per cent. An examination of the table 
shows that most of the Italians are in one school — the Whitewater. 
It is also true that 15 of the 35 children in this school have foreign- 
born parents. It is evident, therefore, that the teaching of English 
speech is one of the major problems in the Whitewater kinder- 
garten. Furthermore, there is in this kindergarten, according to 
estimates supplied by the teachers, a larger percentage of children 
who are in poor health, whose parents are unintelligent, and who 
come from homes of poverty than in any other. It is probable, 
therefore, that a large proportion of the children in this school 
would profit by an extra year or half-year of kindergarten 
training. 

In contrast to the conditions in the Whitewater district are 
those which prevail in the Vaile district. Here the foreign element 
is very slight, the parents of the children are intelligent, and only 
2 of the 34 kindergarten children are regarded as below average in 
intelligence. There can be no doubt that some of the children in 
this kindergarten are ready for first-grade work much earlier than 
those in the kindergarten of the Whitewater school. If a number 
of them are thus ready before they reach the sixth birthday, some 
provision should be made in the kindergarten itself to give them the 



THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 



\4 





«i: 


»— 1 


w 


W 


S 


vA 




pq 


f=3 


< 


H 


H 


n 



OvOO Tt'<t'*MtHOOOOOOOOOO 



tJ- 1-1 lO M >iO 



6 
1) oj rt 6 






C C CI c 



•d s.§ 

(U C ii 

c/5 t/3 '^ J^ 1-7 *-H 



S S-33 bC M C -g -S -^ -§ 

_(u oj j>; c c oj (J -g "c; ^q 






THE KINDERGARTENS 5 

advanced work needed, since promotion is impossible with the 
present state law. 

Methods of control. — The social atmosphere in the kindergartens 
is very wholesome. The children are obedient, orderly, courteous, 
and very considerate of one another for children so young. The 
teachers have won the confidence and affection of the children 
through a sympathetic and respectful attitude toward them and 
through their own sincerity and earnestness. 

The children are unusually independent in distributing and 
putting away material, in getting on their out-of-door wraps, in 
passing through the halls quietly, etc. In all of these ways most 
desirable schoolroom habits are being established. The primary 
teachers testify in every case to the superiority in this respect of the 
children coming to them from the kindergarten over those who come 
directly from the home. 

Certain other modes of behavior which are being set up are not 
so good. For example, in some classes the children have learned 
to respond automatically to a series of four or five piano signals 
which direct them, in turn, to (i) stand, (2) lift their chairs, (3) 
march to ring, (4) place their chairs, and (5) sit. This is an example 
of routinized activity which makes the children too dependent upon 
specific directions. The method used in others of the kindergartens, 
in which a degree of self-control has been developed which makes it 
possible for the children to bring their chairs from the tables to the 
ring in quiet, orderly fashion in response to a single direction, is far 
better. This form of self-control can be developed in the kinder- 
garten with no more effort than that necessary in training the 
children to the automatic response described above and will be a 
much more useful habit for the children to take with them to the 
first grade. 

Other somewhat artificial devices for securing quiet and order, 
which make for too great dependence upon the teacher, are not 
infrequently used. One of these is a play in which the children 
imitate movements of the hands made by the teacher to the accom- 
paniment of a descriptive rhyme. It is used just after a change of 
the class from the circle to the tables, or vice versa, for the manifest 
purpose of getting attention before beginning the real work or play 



6 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

at hand. The teacher begins with the movement and words of the 
play, and by the time it is over all the children, attracted by the 
song or movement, have joined her. When the last word has been 
sung, the teacher at once begins the exercise for the period. This 
method of securing attention should not be necessary. By the time 
children have been in school four months, as all of these children 
have been, it should be an easy matter to center their interest at 
once upon the next thing to be done. They should anticipate it 
with pleasure because of previous experiences. 

These are examples of methods which, if persisted in, will form 
habits of automatic response to specific directions or suggestions. 
The more desirable thing is to lead children gradually to recognize 
the necessity of certain requirements and regulations of the school 
and to secure their willing conformity to such requirements. The 
former procedure reduces the child's responsibility to a minimum, 
making him slavishly dependent upon guidance at every step, while 
the latter, because it secures his co-operation by appeal to his 
intelligence, develops in him independence and self-control, so that 
he is able to adjust himself easily to new situations. 

Summary. — i. Richmond was one among the first twenty-six 
cities in the United States to adopt the kindergarten. For twelve 
years it has provided for all of its children of kindergarten age. 

2. Of twenty-three cities having a population of 10,000 or more, 
Indiana has thirteen cities which support public kindergartens. In 
this respect it is superior to the West Central states, Ohio, Illinois, 
and Iowa, but not equal to Michigan and Indiana. 

3. The method of promotion into the first grade is not altogether 
satisfactory. According to state laws, children may be retained in 
the kindergarten beyond the age of six years, if necessary, which is 
a good provision for immature children, but they may not be pro- 
moted under six years of age. Injustice may thus be done to the 
unusually bright children unless the kindergarten itself provides 
advanced work for them. 

4. There are eleven nationalities represented in the kinder- 
gartens. About 70 per cent of the children are of American 
parentage. The only other nationalities represented in appreciable 
numbers are the German, Italian, and American Negro. Each of 



THE KINDERGARTENS 7 

these is confined largely to one or at most two schools; hence 
modification of methods to suit their needs is a simple matter. 

5. The social atmosphere in the kindergartens is very whole- 
some, and the relation between children and teachers is all that 
could be desired. 

6. The children have, in general, excellent school habits. There 
is some danger, however, that they may be made dependent upon 
particular forms of guidance rather than trained to habits of intel- 
ligent self-control. 



CHAPTER II 
ROOM EQUIPMENT 

Furniture. — The tables which are now in use are of the older 
type, 6 feet long or more and 2^ or 3 feet wide. They are made to 
accommodate children seated at all four sides. Narrow tables 18 
inches wide lend themselves to a much more satisfactory arrange- 
ment of the children with reference to the light and to the teacher, 
but more of them are needed for the same number of children. It 
is convenient to have some of these narrow tables of the six-foot 
length and others of the three-foot length. They may then be used 
singly by small groups of children or combined in various ways, ac- 
cording to the number of children in the group or the type of material 
with which they are working. When the entire class is to do the same 
work, directed by the teacher, an arrangement by which all face 
the teacher is usually best. When the class is divided into groups 
of different sizes for different kinds of work, other arrangements are 
more satisfactory. Furthermore, in a room equipped with small 
tables as well as with larger ones the problem of seating the children 
at tables of the right height for them is very much simpUfied. One 
or more of the small tables may be made lower to accommodate the 
smaller children by cutting off an inch or two of the legs. Chair 
legs may be cut to correspond. 

The tables described are folding tables, which may be easily 
disposed of when the entire floor space is needed for games or other 
physical activities or when the room is needed for assembly pur- 
poses. Three tables 6 feet by 18 inches and six tables 3 feet by 18 
inches would be adequate for a group of 30 children. Twelve of 
the tables 3 feet by 18 inches would serve the same purpose. The 
smaller tables are more easily handled, but they are relatively more 
expensive. An itemized list, with costs, will be found at the end of 
this chapter. It is desirable that new tables be secured. If this 
is impossible, the kindergartners should so arrange their work that 
no children need be seated directly facing the light. In a number 



ROOM EQUIPMENT g 

of rooms fully one-third of the children were so seated, even when 
the class was small enough for all to sit on one side of the tables. 
When the number is too large for this, work should be planned for 
part of the class which may be done on the floor, such as paper- 
cutting, building, clay-modeling, or at the blackboard, such as 
drawing. This would mean that for part of the time the children 
would have to work more independently than they do at present. 
This is very much to be desired, as will be shown in a later chapter. 

Decorations. — Some of the pictures on the walls are entirely 
suitable from the standpoint of subject, drawing, color, etc., and 
were evidently selected with the interests and tastes of the children 
in mind. Among them are illustrations of Mother Goose, by Lucy 
Fitch Perkins. Other pictures are decidedly inappropriate. Some 
of them are photographs of paintings the subjects of which can have 
little meaning for small children. Pictures of this type might well 
be replaced with some bright but harmoniously colored pictures of 
subjects that would be especially interesting to the children at 
certain times of the year and in connection with the special interests 
of the program. A few at a time might be put up and then give 
place to others. There are always quantities of pictures of this 
sort to be found in current magazines, which may be secured at 
little or no expense, attractively mounted on heavy paper of a 
neutral tint, and used as suggested above. Pictures of this kind 
were seen in one or two of the rooms. 

Musical instruments. — Each room has its own piano and the 
kindergartner has the use of the school victrola a large part of the 
time. This is especially advantageous when there is but one teacher 
in the room, for it leaves the teacher free to direct the skipping and 
other rhythmical activities or to take part in them when desirable. 

Plants and animals. — Some of the rooms are unusually well 
supplied with growing plants, while others have none. There were 
no pet animals in any of the rooms, either kindergarten or first 
primary, when they were visited in January and February. Gar- 
dening, both indoors and out, and the care of animals that are in- 
teresting in their habits furnish the very best means of encouraging 
the interest of little children in plant and animal life and should 
be made the basis of nature-study, therefore, in the first school 



lo THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

years. Indoor gardening is especially important in schools which 
have no out-of-door gardens. Such bulbous plants as the paper 
white narcissus, hyacinth, tulip, etc., are easily grown indoors in 
the winter. There are many easily grown garden flowers and some 
quickly maturing vegetables which may be raised in the out-of-door 
gardens in the spring. Goldfish, turtles, white mice, canary birds, 
and, in the spring, rabbits and chickens are examples of animals 
that are easily cared for in the schoolroom. If each kindergarten 
owned one such pet animal, and arrangements were made between 
the schools to exchange with one another from time to time, the 
expense would be slight in comparison with the value to the children 
of intimate acquaintance with a number of living creatures of this 
kind. 

Materials for play and handwork. — The kindergartens are 
supplied with the traditional materials, the so-called gifts and 
occupations. These include two-inch balls, each covered with 
zephyr of one of the six spectrum colors; boxes of building blocks, 
the cubes of which are one inch in diameter; "tablets," which are 
flat bits of polished wood of various geometrical forms, cut to the 
scale of one inch; small sticks ranging in length from one to five 
inches; steel rings, one, two, and three inches in diameter; colored 
papers, cut in four- or six-inch squares for folding; paper mats for 
weaving; colored one-inch circles and squares for design, etc. 

Experience has shown that of all these materials the building 
blocks are the most valuable. The several sets taken together 
contain a sufficient number and variety of forms to make of them 
satisfactory means of construction and expression. The blocks 
themselves are too small, however. The structures made of them 
are not substantial enough to be played with when completed, and 
the careful placing of the blocks, which is necessary in building, calls 
for a degree of hand control which should not be required of children 
under six years of age. 

The Richmond kindergartens are being supplied gradually with 
sets of these building blocks in enlarged form, the cubes being two 
inches in diameter. Blocks on a still larger scale, with cubes six 
inches in diameter and other forms in proportion, and boards of 
different lengths, with which the children can make buildings large 




3- The Grocery Store 




4. The Toy Store 




5. Community Buildings 



ROOM EQUIPMENT ii 

enough to get into and furniture big enough to use themselves, have 
proved most valuable in making structures like those shown in 
Figs. 3 and 4. Blocks and boards of this kind, if cut in the school 
shops, can be provided for the mere cost of the wood. Following is 
a list giving the sizes and numbers of such blocks which have been 
found to serve the needs of a class of 30 children. 

Blocks 

150 blocks 3X6X12 inches 
100 blocks 3 X6X 6 inches 

50 blocks 3X3X12 inches 

25 blocks 6X6X 6 inches 

25 blocks 6X6X 6 inches, divided in half diagonally 



Boards 

40 boards 3 X i X 18 inches 
40 boards 3X1X24 inches 
20 boards 3X1X30 inches 
20 boards 3X1X36 inches 
12 boards 72X1X10 inches 



Most of the other materials indicated above are, like the blocks, 
too small for children to use without unduly taxing the eyes or 
nerves. Furthermore, some of them, especially the tablets, steel 
rings, and small colored circles and squares, are materials which 
have so few uses that they need not be included in a kindergarten 
equipment. 

It is true that the kindergartner of an earlier day regarded the 
whole series of gifts and occupations as essential, because each was 
supposed to have an intrinsic value peculiar to itself and to afford 
the children a type of experience on no account to be missed. On 
the other hand, and according to present-day theory, the various 
materials are now valued primarily as means by which the children 
may give expression to their ideas and carry out their play purposes. 
This means that any of the traditional materials may be discarded 
and that the teacher may go to any source to find other materials 
which serve more adequately the purposes of the kindergarten. 

Thus free to experiment, teachers have found that much better 
results may be obtained, measured in terms of the interest which 



12 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

children manifest, the thought and effort which they exercise, and 
the actual products which they turn out, when some of these newer 
materials are substituted for the orthodox materials. Among these 
materials are papers of a much larger size and heavier weight, to 
be used for constructing toys and other objects; soft wood cut in 
blocks and small boards of various proportions, with hammers and 
nails, also to be used for construction; easily handled textile 
materials, such as roving, jute, and even rags for weaving, instead 
of the paper mats formerly used ; and materials with which children 
may make simple and crude clothing for dolls. It has been learned 
also that drawing and clay-modeling are forms of occupation which 
deserve a larger share of attention than they have been given in the 
past. Methods of using the materials are fully as important 
considerations as the materials themselves. This phase of the 
problem will be discussed in a later section under the heading 
"Manual Activities." 

As part of the permanent equipment a ''kinderhaus" is an 
invaluable adjunct to the kindergarten. It is similar to any five- 
part screen, except that in each of four of the sections there is a 
window and in the fifth a little door on hinges. This screen house 
serves to inclose a space which may be a house, store, or shop, the 
blocks referred to above being used to make the needed furniture or 
equipment. A photograph of such a playhouse is shown in Fig. i 
(frontispiece). Four parts of this one are 5 feet in height and 32^ 
inches in width. The part containing the door is 5I feet high, but 
the same width as the others. This particular playhouse was 
bought years ago and the cost cannot be ascertained. The frame 
for one of these screens, however, could be made in the school shop. 
It could then be covered with burlap or some cheaper material, 
such as cambric or even very heavy wall paper. Some of the 
teachers in Richmond are already planning to convert ordinary 
screens into playhouses of this kind. 

Other play materials commonly used in the kindergartens of 
today are large dolls which may be dressed and undressed; some 
doll furniture for these dolls; large rubber balls, six inches in diam- 
eter; and small toy animals, small dolls, toy utensils, and dishes to 
use in connection with building plays. Musical instruments, such 



ROOM EQUIPMENT 13 

as toy drums, bells, tambourines, etc., for training in rhythm, are 
other valuable materials. Each of the Richmond kindergartens has 
a large doll, with a bed or cradle, and one or two have smaller dolls. 
More of these and the other toys mentioned above are needed. 

Of the consumable materials there is probably needed a more 
generous supply of larger paper for drawing and construction, 
plasticene for modeling, wood, hammers, and nails for the simplest 
kind of woodworking. Doubtless the money now spent for colored 
papers cut in small squares, weaving mats, parquetry papers, the 
laundering of tablecloths, etc., would pay for these other materials. 
As indicated above, the particular materials last mentioned have 
little value and might easily be dispensed with, while the expense of 
laundering the long tablecloths could be saved by using paper 
napkins as table doilies. 

The present budget appropriation of $250, if carefully expended, 
should be enough to keep the kindergartens adequately supplied 
with consumable materials, such as paper, clay, wood, crayons, 
textile materials, etc., and after the first supply such relatively 
permanent equipment as needs renewing occasionally, as rubber 
balls and other toys which wear out. 

Following is an estimate of the furniture and play materials 
which are needed now to equip a kindergarten of 30 children, 
together with the probable cost of the several items and the names 
of the firms from which they may be secured. The average 
enrohnent in the Richmond kindergartens is 35. This estimate is 
made on the basis of an average attendance of 30. 

, U unUned, 6X1^ feet $7 .00— $21 .00I Milton Bradley 

\6 unlined, 3X1I feet 5 00— 1500 |Co., Springfield, 

5 rubber balls, 6 inches in diameter o . 60 — 3 . 00 J Mass. 

iTo be made in 
Floor blocks and boards, as listed on pp. 17-18. . . . 3° • 00 1 manual-training 

Kinderhaus (screen playhouse) 5 . 00 r ^P ' 

J mond schools 

Toys, to be selected according to needs of particular 1^ ^ 

kindergarten j 

Musical instruments, to be selected according to needs K ^^^g-^ g^^^g 

of particular kindergarten 1 1 ■ 00 J 

Total $85.00 



14 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

An expenditure of $136 a year for five consecutive years would 
secure this equipment for the eight kindergartens. The Starr 
School would naturally need a larger proportion and the Warner 
a smaller proportion of the whole than the others. 

Summary. — i. The tables in the kindergarten rooms are gener- 
ally large and heavy. Smaller folding tables are needed in order 
to seat the children more advantageously with reference to the light 
and to make it possible to put the tables out of the way when the 
floor space is needed. 

2. The pictures on the walls are not uniformly well selected. 
Those not interesting to little children should be removed. 

3. More growing plants and some form of animal life are needed 
as a basis in experience for nature-study. 

4. The materials for play and occupation are inadequate. New 
materials, as listed on page 13, are needed. 



CHAPTER III 
THE TEACHERS 

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE OF KINDERGARTEN AND 
FIRST-GRADE TEACHERS 

The eight teachers in the Richmond kindergartens are graduates 
of the Richmond High School and of a professional school for the 
training of teachers. Three of them have had one year of college 
work plus two years of professional training; one has had two years 
of college and three years of professional training; and four have 
had three years of professional training. 

Table III shows the number of years of preparation and expe- 

TABLE III 

Preparation and Experience of Kindergarten and Teachers of Grade I B 
IN the Richmond Schools 



Schools 


Years in 
High School 


Years in 

Professional 

School 


Years in 
College 


Years of 

Teaching 

Experience 


Years of 

Teaching in 

Richmond 




Kdg. 


IB 


Kdg. 


I B 


Kdg. 


I B 


Kdg. 


I B 


Kdg. 


I B 


Baxter 

Finley 

Hibberd... 
Sevastopol . 

Starr 

Vaile 

Warner .... 
Whitewater 


4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 


4 
4 
4 

2 

3 
4 
3 
o 


3 

2 

3 
3 
3 

2 
2 
3 


I 

o 
o 

1-5 

o 

o 


o 
I 

2-5 

o 
o 

I 
I 
o 


1 
3 
O-S 

2 
O 
O 
O 
2 


12 

i6 

17 

I 

14 

9 

i6 

12 


17 

7 

28 

36 
43 
40 
46 
36 


9 
16 

17 

I 

12 

9 
16 

9 


17 

4 

28 

25 

43 
40 
46 
32 


Average 


4 


3 


2.6 


0.68 


0.68 


i.o6 


12.12 


31.6 


II. 12 


29 -37 



rience of the kindergarten teachers as compared with teachers of 
Grade I B. The items were supplied by the teachers themselves 
and by the superintendent's office. 

In total number of years of preparation, including high school, 
normal school, and college, the teachers of the kindergarten average 
7 .24 as against an average of 4.62 years for the teachers of Grade 
IB. On the other hand, the table shows that the teachers of 

IS 



1 6 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

Grade I B have had an average of over two and one-half times as 
many years of teaching experience as the kindergartners have had. 
These differences may be explained by reference to the table. It 
will be seen that six of the first-grade teachers began teaching 
twenty-eight or more years ago. At that time preparation for 
prospective elementary teachers, beyond that which the high school 
offered, was a much less general requirement than it was even 
eleven years later, when the kindergartner who has been teaching 
longest in the Richmond schools began her work. Furthermore, the 
kindergarten, which was introduced into this country as a unique 
and highly organized system of education for little children, has of 
necessity required especially trained teachers from the beginning. 

The reconstruction of kindergarten practice makes summer study 
necessary. — While all the kindergartners of Richmond have had at 
least three years of professional training, they finished that training, 
with one exception, from nine to seventeen years ago. During the 
last ten to fifteen years the reconstructive movement within the 
kindergarten has made rapid progress. This movement, due 
largely to the influence of criticism of the kindergarten made by 
experts in the broader fields of education, is naturally most evident 
in the kindergarten departments of the progressive normal schools 
and universities, in which these departments have the benefit of 
association with other departments for the training of teachers, 
including graduate departments of education. Many kinder- 
gartners, therefore, who had their training several years ago have 
felt the need of further study at one of these institutions in order 
to keep pace with the best developments in kindergarten practice. 
The Richmond kindergartners would doubtless be glad of the 
opportunity to pursue such study during a summer session. It can 
hardly be asked of them under the present salary schedule, however, 
although the latter is good as compared with that of neighboring 
states, as is shown in Table IV. It would pay the Board of Educa- 
tion to make it possible for one or more of the teachers to spend part 
of the summer in study, as suggested above. There are a number 
of school systems which make it a practice to send some of their 
teachers to school each summer, the board paying part or all of their 
expenses. 



TEE TEACHERS 



17 



In the meantime it would be decidedly to the advantage of the 
schools if the young women of Richmond who are looking forward 
to teaching in their home city would go to one of the more progres- 
sive schools outside of the state for training. 

Richmond needs efficient kindergarten-primary supervision. — 
That the Richmond kindergartners have felt the need of contact 
with other kindergartners is evidenced by their unsuccessful efforts 
to secure, as speakers at their institutes, experts in their own field. 
Almost every one of them said that in all the years of her teaching 



TABLE IV 

Average Salaries of Kindergarten Directors in 
Twenty-eight Cities 



1. Superior, Wis $760 

2. Gary, Ind 750 

3. Burlington, Iowa 733 

4. East Chicago, Ind 731 

5. Richmond, Ind 700 

6. Canton, Ohio 666 

7. Terre Haute, Ind 660 

8. Marshalltown, Iowa 650 

9. Mishawaka, Ind 636 

10. Racine, Wis 634 

11. Ironwood, Mich 634 

12. Kalamazoo, Mich 627 

13. Evansville, Ind 626 

14. Fort Wayne, Ind 625 



15. Marquette, Mich $610 

16. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 609 

17. Madison, Wis 600 

18. Bay City, Mich 600 

19. La Crosse, Wis 597 

20. Sheboygan, Wis 586 

21. Menominee, Mich 558 

22. Springfield, Ohio 550 

23. Jackson, Mich 546 

24. Evanston, 111 542 

25. Lansing, Mich 536 

26. Mason, Iowa 514 

27. Dubuque, Iowa 514 

28. Escanaba, Mich 475 



experience she had had no expert criticism and suggestion. As a 
group they are eager for such criticism and are ready and able to 
profit by it. With an efficient supervisor to direct them, a woman 
of experience in both kindergarten and primary grade teaching who 
had had at least a year of recent training in one of the progressive 
professional schools, the Richmond kindergartners would be capable 
of modifying and reconstructing their methods to conform with 
the best type of modern practice. In the meantime it would be de- 
cidedly to the advantage of the schools if the young women of Rich- 
mond who are looking forward to teaching in their home city would 
go to one of the progressive schools outside of the state for training. 



1 8 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

SALARIES OF RICHMOND KINDERGARTNERS 

The salary schedule for the Richmond kindergartners is the 
same as that for the elementary-school teachers with the exception 
of the first-primary teachers. The maximum salaries compare 
favorably with those paid to kindergartners in other cities of Indiana 
and in cities of the neighboring states. Table IV shows the average 
salaries paid to directors of kindergartens in all cities reporting two 
or more teachers in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, 
Indiana, and Ohio. These figures supplied by the superintendent 
were taken from the U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 19 14, 
No. 16. 

The average salary for Richmond kindergartners for the year 
1916-17 is $721 .98, an average increase of $21 .98 in three years. 

USE OF THE kindergartners' AFTERNOON HOURS 

It is only within the last fifteen or twenty years that any large 
number of public kindergartens have held both morning and after- 
noon sessions. Before that time the single session seemed to meet 
the demand in most cities. As the kindergarten grew in popularity, 
however, and especially in the larger cities, it was gradually 
extended by the addition of another group of children in the after- 
noon. ''Of the eight hundred sixty-seven (867) cities reporting for 
the school year 1911-12 to the U.S. Bureau of Education, five 
hundred forty-six (546) have morning and afternoon sessions." 
Richmond is one of the cities which is still able, with the exception 
of one school — the Starr — to provide adequately for its children of 
kindergarten age with one session held in the morning. For part 
of the year the attendance at the Starr is so large that it has to be 
distributed between morning and afternoon sessions. 

The other departments of the elementary school hold an after- 
noon session of two and one-quarter hours, and, since the kinder- 
gartners are under the same salary schedule as the regular grade 
teachers, they are naturally expected to employ the afternoon hours 
in school work of one sort or another. Part of the time is given to 
preparing work for their own classes and part to assisting the grade 
teachers in various ways. One of them teaches music in the sixth 



THE TEACHERS 19 

grade, several others coach the children of the first grade who are 
backward in reading, and one said that she was called upon "for 
almost any odd job that needed to be done." 

Kinder gar tners spend too much time in preparing work for children. 
— Some of the kindergartners feel that they should be allowed a 
large share of the afternoon period to prepare work for the following 
day. Doubtless many a primary teacher feels that she, too, could 
use a good part of her afternoon time in preparation for classwork 
quite as advantageously as the kindergartner if she had it to use. 
Furthermore, there are unquestionably many kindergartners who 
spend much more time in work of this kind than is necessary or 
desirable. The work seen in the Richmond kindergartens goes to 
show that the teachers often prepare the work for the children so 
completely that there is little left for the children to do. For 
example, they draw outlines of objects for the children to cut instead 
of giving the children the more valuable experience of trying to cut 
forms without the help of an outline, or they cut out rather elaborate 
paper forms, drawing lines where the children are to fold, leaving 
for the children only the last step or two of the whole process of 
construction. The results are likely to be excellent, but they do 
not represent the children's work. If the teachers would plan 
simpler forms of occupation and would be satisfied with cruder 
products, they would be able to develop in the children a degree of 
independence in handwork which does not now exist, according to 
the reports of the first-grade teachers who receive the children from 
the kindergarten. This problem will be discussed more fully in 
the chapter on the " Curriculum and Methods of the Kindergarten." 

How time which is not used in preparing materials may he profit- 
ably spent. — Granted, however, that some time, say, an hour, may 
legitimately be allowed the kindergartner for preparation of material 
because her children are so young and lacking in skill, what is the 
best use to be made of the remainder of her time? This is a 
question which must of necessity be answered in terms of the needs 
of the particular school and community and of the special abilities 
of the kindergartner. Because the child's entrance to the school is 
by way of the kindergarten, the kindergartner has been trained to 
regard home visiting and mothers' meetings as necessary to efficient 



20 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

work with the children. With the advent of the parent-teachers' 
association, and in districts where the mothers have leisure to visit 
the school several times a year, this becomes a less important 
feature of the teacher's work. In such communities as that in 
which the Whitewater School is located, however, some portion of 
the kindergartner's time might well be spent in home visiting and 
other phases of social service work. The following quotation from 
a primary teacher in the Hibberd School would seem to indicate 
the need of such home visiting in that district : 

If all the children of careless, indifferent, and shiftless parents could be 
persuaded or compelled to go to kindergarten, we might secure for all children 
a greater continuity of experience. Almost without exception my seventeen 
non-kindergarten pupils come from such indifferent homes, while the thirty 
kindergarten pupils come from homes in the majority of which the parents are 
interested in every move of the child. 

If the kindergartner is unusually well qualified to teach a 
particular subject, such as music or drawing, and help is needed in 
one or the other of these lines, by all means let the kindergartner's 
time be used for this purpose. It will be a developing experience 
for the teacher to do work in another field than her own at the same 
time that it serves the purposes of the school. 

A suggested plan for the profitable use of the kindergartner's 
afternoon hours. — -Another plan which would make for more efficient 
work in both kindergarten and first grade and which would help to 
bring about better co-ordination between the two is here offered. 
Let the classroom teachers concerned meet in conference with the 
supervisors of manual arts, physical education, and music for the 
purpose of discussing a plan by which the kindergartner may bring 
one group after another of first-grade children to her room during 
an hour of the afternoon period for work in the manual arts, games, 
singing, or story-telling, or any satisfactory combination of two of 
these subjects. They are all subjects which, by virtue of her 
training and experience, the kindergartner should be well qualified 
to handle. It would relieve the first-grade teacher of responsibility 
for one-third or one-half of her children for a good share of the 
afternoon, making it possible for her to meet the needs of individual 
children more satisfactorily. It would necessitate careful organiza- 



THE TEACHERS 21 

tion of a kindergarten-first-grade course of study in these subjects, 
which would make for real continuity. It would serve to bring 
kindergarten and first-grade teachers into a closer understanding of, 
and sympathy with, one another's problems. It would make 
possible a more developing type of handwork and games than is 
practicable with the limited space and large groups of the first- 
grade rooms. 

It is possible that the particular type of work and program 
organization would need to be worked out for each separate school. 
It might be wise to try out the plan in one or two schools for half a 
year in order to discover the best methods of organization. In any 
case, it would prove a much more stimulating, as well as profitable, 
way for the kindergartner to spend her afternoon hours than in 
tutoring a handful of backward children in reading. This is not 
meant to minimize the importance of the latter or to say that the 
kindergartner should not help with it, but it stands to reason that 
the person who is responsible for teaching reading to beginners will 
be better able to bring up the backward children, if she has some 
leisure in which to do it, than the one whose only contact with the 
problem is through the slow children. If the kindergartner teaches 
first-grade children part of the time, she ought to have the stimulus 
and interest which come from full responsibility for the progress 
which they make in the subjects which she teaches. If a plan of 
this kind should be carried out, the monthly institutes might well 
be given over to discussion of the problems involved. 

Summary. — i. The average time which has been given to 
preparation for teaching by the kindergartners of Richmond is con- 
siderably longer than that of the first-primary teachers. On the 
other hand, the latter have had a much longer average teaching ex- 
perience than the kindergartners. 

2. The reconstructive movement within the kindergarten has 
been rapid in recent years. Most of the Richmond kindergartners 
had their training several years ago, hence should now be given 
opportunity to come in contact with the newer methods in kinder- 
garten education through summer study at some one of the more 
progressive professional schools outside of the state. A well- 
trained and thoroughly efficient supervisor of kindergarten and 



22 TEE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

primary grades is also needed to bring the work of the schools to 
the highest possible level. 

3. The kindergartners are under the same salary schedule as 
the elementary-school teachers, with the exception of those teaching 
first primary. Their salaries are relatively high, Richmond being 
fifth from the top in a comparison of average salaries of twenty- 
eight cities in the West Central states. Nevertheless the salaries 
are too low to admit of summer study with its attendant expense. 

4. The kindergartens are in session in the morning only, with 
one exception. The teachers spend more of their afternoon hours 
than is necessary or desirable in preparing material for the children. 
A larger part of this time might profitably be spent in directing the 
manual arts and games of the first-grade classes. This type of 
co-operation would help to bring about a better co-ordination 
between the kindergarten and the first grade and more continuity 
in the various activities than now exists. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE KINDERGARTEN AND 
THE FIRST GRADE 

There should he continuity between the kindergarten and the first 
grade. — ^Both kindergartners and first-grade teachers were asked 
to give written answers to a number of questions concerning the 
subjects of the curriculum, continuity in the course of study, the 
advantage of kindergarten training, methods of securing effective 
co-ordination between the kindergarten and the first grade, etc. 

The replies show that the first grade includes in its curriculum, 
in addition to reading, writing, and spelling, all of the subjects or 
activities of the kindergarten, but there is no indication that the 
first-grade work in these subjects is built upon work begun in the 
kindergarten. According to figures supplied by the first-grade 
teachers, 56 per cent' of their children have had kindergarten 
training. There is certainly no reason why the work planned for 
these children should not be based upon what has been accomplished 
by kindergarten training in each of the several subjects. That this 
is not done is due probably to the fact that there is no clear under- 
standing as to what are the results of kindergarten training in these 
various lines. It becomes very important, therefore, as suggested 
in chapter iii, that the teachers and the supervisors concerned work 
out a kindergarten-primary curriculum which shall provide for 
continuity in each of the subjects — namely, community life, 
industrial and fine arts, language, music, physical education, 
nature-study, and number work. One of the primary teachers 
suggests that "an outline of work planned more closely between 
the kindergarten and the primary teachers, particularly for the last 
few weeks of the kindergarten work," would be desirable. An 
excellent beginning in this direction has been made by the teachers 
in one of the schools. It was learned on the second visit to 

' The total enrolment in the kindergartens is 80 per cent of the estimated number 
of children entering school each year. It would seem, therefore, as if a larger per- 
centage of first-grade children must have had kindergarten training. 



24 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

Richmond that such a plan is already under way with the group 
as a whole. 

Advantages of kindergarten training. — There is very general 
agreement between kindergarten and first-grade teachers as to 
certain advantages of kindergarten training. Some of these are 
that the children's introduction to the school is made easy and 
natural by means of the kindergarten, that the mental content of 
kindergarten-trained children is much richer, that they are more 
alert and observant, that they have learned to be punctual and 
regular in attendance, to follow directions, to wait upon themselves 
in the dressing-rooms and lavatories, that they have been taught 
to play fairly and to be considerate and helpful in the schoolroom. 
Some of the primary teachers feel that they cannot take full advan- 
tage of these desirable habits because of the large numbers of their 
pupils and limited space and material. For example, a first-grade 
teacher often feels that she cannot take time to let the children 
distribute materials, put them away, etc., because she can do it 
more quickly than they. 

First-grade teachers find kindergarten children too dependent upon 
teachers^ help in handwork.— Concerning the disadvantages of 
kindergarten training, six of the primary teachers say that, while 
the kindergarten children are independent and self-helpful in the 
ways enumerated above, they are quite dependent upon the teacher 
for direction and help in handwork. The following statements from 
the papers of some of the primary teachers make clear their point 
of view: 

"The kindergarten child looks after his personal needs. When he works, 
he is not so independent. " 

"There is helplessness on the part of many in doing independent hand- 
work." 

"The kindergarten children are accustomed to more help from the teacher 
than we can possibly give them on account of our greater number of pupils. 
If the kindergarten children could be made more independent workers, it 
would be a help to us." 

Suggestions have been made elsewhere concerning types of 
handwork and methods that would develop more independent 
thought and work on the part of kindergarten children than is now 
evident. 



KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE 25 

Kindergarten children in the first grade are inclined to talk and 
play instead of to work.- — One other disadvantage, mentioned twice, 
is that the kindergarten children want to talk and play instead of 
work. This may be regarded as a criticism of the first grade rather 
than of the kindergarten. Some of the seat work observed was not 
of a kind to call for either the thought or the effort of which six- 
year-old children are capable. Arranging one-inch sticks in rows 
according to color is an example. The teacher has no right to 
condemn a child who refuses to occupy himself for fifteen minutes 
with work so far below his ability. Occupations should be planned 
for children, whether in the kindergarten or in the first grade, which 
appeal to the children as worth doing and which demand concentra- 
tion and effort on their part. When this is done, there is little 
temptation on the part of the children to talk or to play. One 
group of first-grade children which was observed worked quietly 
and with great interest on the problem of designing and making 
valentines while the teacher was engaged with a reading class. 
Another class was absorbed in drawing the pail, stool, cup, crock, 
pans, churn, etc., which are needed by the dairyman. Interest in 
these various objects was the outcome of a dialogue between two 
boys, imaginary farmers, concerning their work. The teacher had 
sketched some of the objects mentioned on the board. She then 
left one class to draw while she worked with the second, and later 
the second group worked independently at drawing while the 
teacher devoted herself to a lesson with the first class. 

The first-grade children need more of active play. — Even well- 
planned occupation will not hold interest and attention, however, 
when the children are in need of physically active play. The 
first-grade children need more of this kind of play than they seem 
to be getting. 

It is understood that the large classes in the first-grade rooms, 
the floor space of which is occupied with non-movable desks and 
seats, makes the problem of providing for the children good seat 
work and enough physical play a difficult one. There is no doubt, 
however, that the situation could be much improved through the 
plan suggested in chapter iii in the section on the use of the kinder- 
gartners' afternoon hours. It might be possible, also, to arrange 



26 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

for the first-grade teacher to send a group of ten or twelve children 
to the kindergarten during the morning for plays and games, as 
well as in the afternoon, and for all the primary grades to work out 
a program by which the hall space could be used more commonly for 
play. Co-operative effort more than anything else is what is 
needed to overcome many of these limitations and problems of 
which most of the teachers are keenly aware. 

Summary. — i. Fifty-six per cent of the children in the first 
grades have had kindergarten training, and yet the work planned 
for these children is not consciously based upon what they have 
accomplished in the kindergarten. It is urged, therefore, that the 
teachers and the special supervisors concerned co-operate in working 
out a kindergarten-primary curriculum which shall look toward 
continuity in the subjects which these two grades have in common. 

2. Written replies to questions asked show that kindergartners 
and primary teachers agree on certain general advantages of 
kindergarten training. Kindergarten children are alert and observ- 
ant, they have more ideas, they have acquired some desirable school 
habits, etc. 

3. A number of first-grade teachers find the children who have 
been through the kindergarten very dependent in handwork. 
Suggestions concerning methods of developing more independence 
in this respect are made in a later chapter. 

4. Some first-grade teachers complain of a tendency on the part 
of kindergarten- trained children to talk and to play in school. 
This is due to the failure of the primary grades to provide good 
forms of occupation and enough physical play. The suggestions 
made concerning the use of the kindergartners' afternoon hours in 
chapter iii will help to solve this problem. 



CHAPTER V 
CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF THE KINDERGARTEN 

This section of the report is based upon material gathered from 
three sources: (i) two weeks spent in the observation of teaching 
in the kindergartens; (2) several group and individual conferences 
with the teachers; (3) the printed course of study found in the 
Superintendent's Report of 1Q12, pp. 177-88. 

The printed course of study is not now followed by any of the 
kindergartners. They write that it "was gotten up in great haste 
several years ago in order that a kindergarten program might be 
included in the manual then in course of construction." There 
would be no reason for considering it at all in this report except 
that its injQuence was felt in some of the work observed, and there- 
fore some reference to it may serve to clarify parts of this discussion 
of curriculum and methods. It must be remembered, however, 
that this printed program does not represent the work that is now 
being done in the kindergartens. 

I. SUBJECT-JMATTER AND METHODS 

When the kindergartens were visited during the third week of 
January, one of the following subjects was the center of interest for 
the week in every case: the work of the carpenter, the woodman, 
the blacksmith, the postman, or the fireman. In most schools 
these subjects had been preceded, or were to be followed, by con- 
sideration of other forms of industrial work, such as that of the 
baker, the shoemaker, and the coal dealer. In one case, however, 
the topic for the week before had been ''Lights — Artificial and 
Natural." 

During the week of the second visit to the kindergartens, the 
third week in February, the subject material was, in most schools, 
related to Valentine's Day and Lincoln's birthday. 

It was learned that the general plan at this time of the year was 
to take one of these or similar subjects each week for several weeks. 

27 



28 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

The particular trades or forms of service were selected with reference 
to the district in which the school was located. For example, if 
there were no blacksmith-shop in a given district which the children 
could visit, the subject of the blacksmith might be omitted. This 
principle of selection was not consistently followed, however, for 
in one school the teacher said they had taken up the miner the week 
before. Certainly this topic would have to be presented through 
pictures and description. The children could have no opportunity 
to see the miner at work. 

So far as it was possible to determine, the method of dealing 
with any one of these subjects was about as follows: 

1. Language: Early in the morning of each day there would be some 
conversation about the blacksmith (for example) — the objects he makes might 
be enumerated one day, the tools he uses the next, etc., with emphasis always 
upon the industry of the blacksmith, the importance of his service, and our 
gratitude to him. Pictures would sometimes be used in this connection. 

2. An excursion to the shop would be made if possible, usually early in the 
week. 

3. Handwork: By means of block-building, stick-laying, drawing, paper- 
cutting, or some other occupation the children would represent on successive 
days the shop, the tools, the horse being shod, the objects made of iron, or 
something else related to the blacksmith's work. 

4. Singing: A song about the blacksmith, accompanied by pantomime 
representation of his activities, would probably be taught. 

5. A story about a blacksmith, emphasizing the importance of his service, 
would be told. 

Organization of subject-matter criticized. — There is no criticism 
to be made of the selection of some of these forms of industrial or 
civic occupation. There are objections, however, to using them 
in the manner described. In the first place, there is an attempt to 
cover too much ground. The children are introduced in the course 
of a few weeks to too large a number of objects, processes, and 
ideas. The treatment is, in consequence, very superficial, as the 
description of the general method of handling the subject for each 
week shows. There is not time for the children to become 
acquainted with the material. 

In the second place, there is no significant connection, for the 
child, between the work of one week and that of the next. While 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 29 

''the trades" are related in the teacher's mind as representing forms 
of work upon which we all are dependent and are utiHzed by her, 
in part at least, for the purpose of presenting to the children ideas 
and ideals of interdependence and co-operation, they fail to carry 
any such meaning to the children. Children of kindergarten age 
are too inexperienced and immature to appreciate such general 
conceptions, and it is a fundamental mistake in the organization 
of the program, therefore, to start with general ideas and then to 
select material to exemplify these ideas. We may profitably give 
the children an abundance of concrete experiences which will 
furnish material for this type of organization later, but this is not 
the type for the kindergarten stage. 

A similar objection may be made to the organization of subject- 
matter, in itself suitable, under such a general heading as "Lights." 
It is true that various objects which give light are interesting and 
attractive to children, but there is no particular value in bringing 
them to the children as a group of objects, in order to emphasize 
the diflferent kinds of lights and their various services. Each kind 
of light-giving object has associations and connections in the 
child's experience that are more interesting and significant than 
the class relation of one of these objects to another. It is in these 
more fundamental relationships, then, that such subject material 
should be brought to the children. For example, when a little 
community is being represented objectively, street lights, signal 
lights, and vehicle lights are necessary adjuncts, and it is in such 
connection that their purpose may be most effectively emphasized. 
Again, if a child is trying to tell through his drawing that it is night 
time, the moon and stars will naturally appear in his picture as 
one means to this end. 

Children, then, must be helped to organize their experiences 
on their own plane and in terms of their own activities. The 
manual occupations of the kindergarten furnish the most important 
means to this end, as will be shown in the following section. These 
should be fully supplemented, however, by expression through 
language and dramatization. 

Tendency of present-day practice in selection of subject-matter. — • 
The kindergarten of today realizes the futility of giving its children 



30 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

intellectual food which they cannot digest. In planning the course 
of study, therefore, its tendency is to limit the source of subject- 
matter to the everyday experiences of the particular group of 
children concerned. It selects from these experiences those which 
are worth interpreting and extending, and it seeks to help the 
children to organize them through the different play activities and 
modes of expression which the kindergarten offers. 

Such a course of study might well include such familiar and 
important household occupations as cooking, cleaning, sewing, 
and such related sources of supply as the grocery, the market, and 
the dry-goods store. It might include also the home itself, with 
its furnishing and equipment; the several homes in a given com- 
munity; such provisions for community life and needs as are 
afforded by the school, the mail service, the fire department, the 
public park and playground, and public means of transportation. 
These latter phases of community life, involving the work of 
postman, fireman, car drivers, etc., would be taken up in con- 
nection with the homes, school, and other buildings representing 
the group life rather than as a series of "helpers" who exemplify 
social and moral ideals. 

Seasonal activities, such as preserving fruit, cleaning house, and 
gardening, as well as the characteristic plays and sports of the 
season, might legitimately constitute part of the subject-matter. 

The festival days which may have meaning for little children — 
Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Valentine's Day, and 
May Day— should also be given childlike and suitable recognition. 

The following sections of the report will offer suggestions 
concerning the organization of subject-matter of this kind. 

SUMMARY 

1. During January and February, when the kindergartens were 
visited, the "trades" were the chief source of subject-material for 
the program. About a week was given to each form of work 
considered. 

2. The method of dealing with each trade or occupation usually 
included an excursion to the shop or place where the work could be 
seen, conversation concerning the service of the particular worker 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 31 

to the community, representation through handwork of his tools 
or products, and probably a song or story about his work. 

3. No criticism is made of the subject-matter as such, but 
objection is offered on two other grounds: (i) the too great quantity 
and variety of intellectual material introduced within a given 
period; (2) the evident utilization of the subject-matter to present 
to immature minds ideas and ideals which belong to a later stage 
of development. 

4. The tendency of the kindergarten of the present day is to 
seek the content material of the program in the daily experiences 
of the children and to select those particular experiences which are 
worth interpretation and extension. Life in the home and in the 
immediate social and physical environment of the children furnishes 
abundant experience of this character. 

5. Suggestions concerning childlike organization of such material 
will be found in the section ''Manual Activities." 

2. MANUAL ACTIVITIES 
MATERIALS AND METHODS AS OBSERVED IN THE KINDERGARTENS 

As indicated in the foregoing section, in the work observed in 
the kindergartens the suggestions or directions given by the teacher 
for the use of concrete materials were usually in line with the 
subject-matter for the week, and it was learned that this is the 
common practice. In one school the carpenter was the subject; 
here tools or objects made of wood were represented. In another 
school, in which the postman happened to be the center of interest, 
envelopes were folded and the children played at writing letters. 
Sometimes the materials were well selected, and the exercise so or- 
ganized and motivated that the children were given opportunity 
and incentive to express their own ideas. At other times the 
choice of material was not so good and the conduct of the exercise 
quite formal and unchildhke. 

Following are detailed descriptions of work seen in two different 
kindergartens. The first is given as an example of what is regarded 
as poor method, because it admits of no real thought or expression 
on the part of the children; the second describes a series of exercises 
which are distinctly valuable from the standpoint of both content 



32 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

and method. They deal with familiar and interesting material. 
Each exercise is related to previous and subsequent experiences, 
and is presented in such a way as to stimulate the children to put 
forth their best effort. 

A detailed criticism and evaluation of each exercise follows the 
description. 

BUILDING EXERCISE 

Presentation of material. — ^Twenty-five children were seated 
about the tables. While three children distributed small boxes, 
each containing eight one-inch cubes (the third gift), the others 
kept time to piano music by clapping. This was a device used to 
keep the children from handling the boxes until all were ready. 
Then followed an elaborate series of exercises, directed by the 
teacher, the purpose of which was to help the children to take the 
blocks out of the boxes in a uniform and orderly fashion. First, the 
lid of each box was pulled out a little way and the box was turned 
upside down with the lid projecting. The box thus placed was 
called a piano, the Ud representing the keyboard. Led by the 
teacher, the children imitated the movement of playing the piano 
and sang through one or two songs. Next, the lids were all with- 
drawn at the same moment and waved in the air as flags, while the 
children sang a flag song. The boxes were then lifted, the lids 
placed in them, and the boxes deposited under the chairs to the 
accompaniment of another song descriptive of the action. 

Subject-matter and method. — The teacher directed the children 
to lift the upper layer of four blocks and to place them on the table 
beside the lower layer. This was the carpenter's table or bench. 
The children were then asked to name some of the tools used by the 
carpenter and to make them. A form like that in the sketch 
I — I — ir^/^ appeared and was called a hammer. The teacher next 
~~~Cy suggested that all make a carpenter's "measure." 
This she did with her own set of blocks by placing 
them in a row. She also suggested counting the 
inches in the rule. To one child she said, "What is 
wrong with your rule? It is not like ours." Another arrange- 
ment of the blocks was named "plane." And then, again following 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 33 

the teacher's lead, the children sang a song descriptive of the 
activities of hammering, sawing, planing, etc. "Now you may 
make anything you want to," said the teacher. 

When the time was up, the teacher struck a chord upon the 
piano which meant that all hands were to be folded. The children 
were then directed to place the blocks in the form of a cube prepara- 
tory to putting them away. 

Criticism. — Presentation of material: To keep the children 
clapping to music and to lead them, step by step, in the manner 
described, through the simple process of getting eight little blocks 
out of a box, are artificial devices used to hold interest and attention 
and to secure order and uniformity. Instead of developing the 
power of attention, however, they overstimulate the children and 
create in them a demand for continuous change and variety. 
Furthermore, they make the children very dependent upon the 
teacher. If, in this case, an interesting plan for the use of these 
blocks had been decided upon before distributing the material, the 
children would have been ready and eager to get the blocks out and 
the boxes disposed of as promptly as possible in order to get at the 
real problem before them. If the thing to be done required that all 
wait in order to get further directions from the teacher before 
beginning to build, the children should be trained to exercise the 
control necessary to this end. 

Subject-matter and method: If the teacher's aim, as it seemed 
to be, was to supply the children with material through which they 
could express their ideas of carpenters' tools, the medium of expres- 
sion chosen was a very poor one, as the results all too plainly 
showed. Drawing materials or clay would have been far more 
suitable for this subject. The subject itself is not one which is 
likely to bring much response from little children unless an interest 
in it had been developed through some vital experience, such as 
making something of wood in which hammer and nails were used, 
or a visit to a shop where the work with the tools could be seen. 
Even this would need to be supplemented with pictures, description, 
etc., before one could expect real expression from the children. 
Moreover, there was no motive for the work beyond the desire to 



34 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

please the teacher. There was no play possible with the objects 
constructed, no way of testing their efficiency. The wrong thing 
was that which was "not like ours." 

This exercise is an example of what one sees so often in the 
kindergarten — an effort on the part of the teacher to illustrate 
the various phases of the subject, which she has selected, with the 
particular materials which she believes the children should be using 
at the time. This method usually results in the illustration by the 
children of what is in the teacher's mind, rather than expression 
on the part of the children of what is in their own minds in regard 
to the subject. 

Requiring the children to fold their hands at the end of the 
period and in response to a signal, before putting the material away, 
is another illustration of a practice which tends to make automatons 
of the children. A habit of responding at once to the teacher's 
request to put material away would be a much more useful one to 
establish. 

DRAWING-LESSON 

In order to do justice to the lesson in drawing, it will be necessary 
to describe previous exercises. The children had made the paper 
furniture for a toy kitchen (represented by a hat box) a few days 
before the day on which the drawing-lesson was given. This had 
been a group project, each child contributing some piece of furniture 
which he had made without help or suggestion from the teacher. 
The products were extremely crude, but it was evident that each 
presented a child's effort to put into form his idea of the particular 
object, and each object served reasonably well the play purpose for 
which it was intended. The plan for the next week was to make a 
dining-room of this box by substituting dining-room furniture. On 
this particular day the teacher anticipated and prepared for this 
new project through free play, conversation, and the drawing-lesson 
in which we are interested. 

Free play. — 'At one side of the room stood a three-part screen, 
behind which was a little table spread with a cloth and set with toy 
dishes. There were pictures on the walls of this little room, which 
had been made by the children for the purpose, and a toy cradle and 
doll, standing in one corner, gave the realistic touch needed. Before 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 35 

school the children had had an opportunity to play in the little 
room with the new dishes. 

Conversation. — After the singing period the teacher recalled to 
the class its plan to furnish the little box room as a dining-room and 
asked what furniture would be needed. A large table, several 
chairs, and a buffet were the articles mentioned. The fact was 
brought out that dining-room chairs are usually alike. One child 
said that there was a fireplace in the dining-room in his house. 
The teacher accepted this and said that they might be able to make 
one. She then suggested that they think of ways to make the 
dining-room furniture before Monday. 

Drawing. — A little later in the morning, when the time came 
for handwork, the teacher suggested to the children that they draw 
pictures of a dining-room with the necessary furniture in it. Paper 
and crayons were distributed, and the children went to work at 
once. Every child drew with interest, and the results showed 
perfectly definite, clear ideas. As they drew, the teacher went 
about, occasionally making a comment, or asking a question, which 
tended to lead the particular child addressed to better arrangement 
or truer representations. At the end of the period the drawings 
were shown the class and the interesting and excellent features were 
commented upon by the children or the teacher. 

Criticism. — 'This lesson in drawing was good for many reasons. 
The subject was familiar, interesting, and suited to the children's 
technical abihty. It was particularly well chosen at this time, 
because of the unusual interest secured through the play dining- 
room behind the screen and because of the plans for furnishing the 
box room. The children knew what they were to do before the 
material was distributed ; hence anticipation of the work to be done 
held interest for the time necessary to distribute the materials. 
Drawing was a good mode of expression for this subject. The chil- 
dren were able to represent the objects very well in simple outline and 
to show the essential articles of furniture in relation to one another. 
There was the opportunity also to include the human figure in 
the picture and thus to express life and action through the drawing. 

The previous play with toys and the conversation served to 
define the children's ideas and to enhance the interest, so that 



36 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

attention was easily held by the subject when the drawing period 
came. The lesson had the further advantage of preparing the way 
for better construction the next week by directing attention to 
some of the characteristic features of the furniture forms and their 
relative size. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS THROUGH OBJECTIVE PROJECTS 

This series of exercises, of which the drawing-lesson was one, 
suggests a method of organization of ideas through activities which 
is natural to little children and has value for them. Children 
spontaneously reproduce the familiar occupations of their immediate 
social environment in imitative play. They use toys and materials 
at hand for this purpose, or they make the objects which they need 
of materials which they can handle. This is their way of becoming 
acquainted with certain phases of the life which is going on about 
them, of getting some insight into the meaning of social activities 
and relationships and some control over concrete materials. As 
has been said, one of the functions of the kindergarten is to further 
the child's effort to interpret and to organize his daily experiences. 
The manual activities furnish one of the best means to this end if 
they are rightly used. The accompanying photographs illustrate 
the objective expression of group projects which have proved most 
valuable as means of holding interest and organizing activity for 
relatively long periods of time, say, five or six weeks. 

The kinderhaus. — The kinderhaus, Figs, i and 2 (frontispiece), as 
the center of housekeeping plays, supplies motive for building neces- 
sary furniture, for making bedding, table furnishings, kitchen uten- 
sils, and window curtains. The objects to be made are so familiar 
that the children have definite ideas to start with, and, given some 
suggestion and suitable material, they are able to work with relative 
independence. The intense interest in the project stimulates the 
children to put forth their best effort in planning and in making the 
necessary objects. The variety of things needed calls for the use of a 
variety of materials, and the objects made must stand the test of use 
in play. The children are thus enabled to judge their own products. 

The grocery store. — The building and equipping of a grocery store 
like that shown in Fig. 3, (facing p. 11) is a project still richer in 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 37 

possibilities. It necessitates excursions to the store to learn how 
and with what it is stocked. It calls for a quantity and variety 
of provisions. It suggests dramatic plays of buying and selling, 
and its relation to the home (represented by the kinderhaus) is 
expressed through these plays. Wagons and baskets need to be 
constructed to deliver the groceries satisfactorily, and the buyers 
need pocketbooks and money to pay for them. The fourth photo- 
graph shows the toy store with its Christmas decorations. 

Community buildings. — The group of community buildings 
represented in the fifth photograph (facing p. 1 1) is the objective 
expression of community needs and relationships. It shows many 
houses, a school, a church, some stores and shops, the street, street 
lights, automobiles, etc. The remaining pictures (facing p. 41) 
show the children gardening and feeding their chickens. 

Other forms of expression. — These various illustrations represent 
the constructive occupations mainly, but drawing and design are 
not neglected. The interest in the various subjects represented 
above is keen enough to carry over into illustrative drawing, 
and many of the problems in construction call also for design. 
Patterns for rugs, designs for plate decoration, etc., are neces- 
sary. There is, also, ample motive for design in such minor 
projects as the making of room decorations for festival occasions, 
the making of Christmas presents, valentines. May baskets, Easter 
cards, etc. 

It is through work of this character, in which the objects to be 
made are familiar and interesting, the motive strong, the materials 
and process suited to the children's technical skill, that children of 
five or six years of age acquire the ability to attack problems in 
construction and representation and work them out with relative 
independence. 

SUMMARY 

1. Both good and poor methods in manual work were observed 
in the kindergartens. 

2. An inferior lesson is described in detail. It is criticized as 
exhibiting artificial and unnecessary devices for holding attention, 
a selection of material which did not lend itself to the expression of 
the subject-material, and a lack of childlike motive. 



38 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

3. An excellent lesson, described in detail, is commended as 
showing adequate preparation through previous play and con- 
versation, interesting and suitable subject-matter, well-selected 
material, and opportunity for thoughtful, independent work on the 
part of the children. 

4. Objective group projects are valuable means of holding 
interest and of organizing activity over a period of several weeks. 
Illustrations of such projects are furnishing a playhouse (kinder- 
haus) ; building and equipping a store ; the setting up of a miniature 
community, using paper or blocks for the construction of the build- 
ings; making a garden; and raising chickens. Photographs show 
the objective expression of these several projects. 

3. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 
TIME AND ATTENTION GIVEN TO TRAINING IN LANGUAGE 

When the kindergartners were questioned concerning the time 
and attention given to language training, the general reply was 
that language training was carried on in connection with all other 
activities of the morning. Some few indicated a "morning talk" 
as part of the daily program; others referred to the memorizing 
of poetry (especially Mother Goose) and the retelling of familiar 
stories by the children as methods of language training. 

These are all excellent means of giving the children of kinder- 
garten and primary grades training in language. On the days on 
which the Richmond kindergartens were observed some time was 
given to repetition of rhymes, but there was comparatively little 
opportunity or incentive offered the children for free oral expression. 
The "morning talk" consisted of a succession of questions asked 
by the teacher which were answered by the children in single words. 
For example, "What did we wear to keep warm this cold morning ? " 
"Mittens, coat, sweater." "Yes, and what is the sweater made 
of?" "Wool." "And where do we get the wool?" etc. This 
question-and-answer method of conversation rarely calls for any 
thought on the child's part and so gives him no real training in 
expression. The answers are generally given by the one or two 
children who happen to have good memories. The rest sit passively 
by, giving but a half-hearted kind of attention. 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 39 

AN EXERCISE IN ORAL EXPRESSION 

In contrast to the type of exercise just described the following 
was observed: 

The teacher sat down and asked the children to sit on the floor 
before her so that they might look at some things which had been 
brought. These things had been left on a table. As the children 
were called upon in turn, they brought the objects over to show to 
the class. One of the objects was a toy automobile which had been 
made at home. The children were much interested in this, but 
called attention to its shortcomings. In reply to the teacher's 
questions, they told where the steering wheel and running wheels 
should be placed. It was suggested to the child who made it that 
he try to complete it and then bring it back. A second treasure 
was a very attractive big blue marble. The little Italian who 
brought this had no English with which to tell anything about it, 
but at the teacher's suggestion the children arranged themselves 
in a ring and played with the marble as they had been accustomed 
to play with a ball. Before rolling it each child would say, "I am 
going to try to roll it to . " 

SOME METHODS OF SECURING FREE ORAL EXPRESSION 

We have here an example of the type of language exercise which 
brings better results than the one first described. Children usually 
talk with freedom about those things in which they are tremen- 
dously interested — their toys, their plays, any new article of 
clothing, their trips to interesting places, what their fathers and 
mothers do, what they have done or expect to do, etc. All of these 
subjects for expression are not equally valuable, but the wise 
teacher will encourage expression concerning any interest of the 
child and by tactful guidance lead it into profitable channels. An 
excellent device is the one just described — that of encouraging the 
children to bring and to show to the others any object of interest 
to themselves. With the object in hand the shyest child may be 
led to tell something about it, and the others will shortly begin to 
contribute bits of their knowledge or experience suggested by the 
object. Sometimes the object brought is wrapped in paper. Then 
the child may be asked to describe it without naming it. If the 



40 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

children cannot guess, they begin to ask questions. This centers 
attention, stimulates thought, and tends to overcome self-conscious- 
ness on the part of all the children. Early in the year the children 
bring miscellaneous objects, but as time goes on they begin to 
bring pictures or objects related to the subjects of interest which 
are central in the program. 

THE teacher's CONTRIBUTION TO THE LANGUAGE EXERCISE 

The teacher may use this time to show the objects or pictures 
or to suggest the topics to which she wants the children to give 
attention. Suppose it is the carpenter and his work. The actual 
making by the children of something of wood, in which nails and 
hammers had been used, would be a good point of departure. We 
may assume that the children have done this the previous day. In 
view of this delightful experience they will discuss with much 
interest the cutting and planing of the wood which must have 
preceded their use of it. Examination of some of the actual tools 
will bring interested question and comment, and a good colored 
picture of a carpenter at work will stimulate further thoughtful 
expression. An excursion to a carpenter's shop or to the manual- 
training room of the school will give materials for conversation 
another day, and so on. After varied experiences of this kind the 
children will have something to tell through drawing, and another 
day their drawings may be used as a topic for conversation. These 
illustrations are given thus fully to make clear the fact that it is 
the teacher's function to create situations which will supply incen- 
tive and motive for free oral expression on the part of the children. 
When she gets this, she may then gradually correct the child's 
English, encourage him to use complete sentences in talking, and 
help him in his choice of words and expressions. 

GROUP COMPOSITION 

A short daily period, of about fifteen minutes, devoted to con- 
versation concerning things of vital interest to the particular group 
of children serves to supplement and helps to organize experiences 
gained through other activities at the same time that it gives 
training in oral expression. As the children gradually overcome 




6. Preparing the Ground 




7. l^LAMJM. 




8. Fkkdinc; the C'hickens 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 41 

any natural shyness and begin to express themselves with some 
degree of freedom, the teacher may help them tc further organiza- 
tion of their ideas by supplying motive for group composition. 
This may take the form of a letter to an absent schoolmate or to 
another grade, a story about an interesting picture, an account of 
an excursion, or a description of some work done by the children. 
After discussing with the children some of the things they would 
like or need to include in such a composition, the teacher may lead 
them to express their ideas in complete sentences and to arrange 
the sentences in somewhat logical fashion. The children's interest 
in this type of work is enhanced by keeping their compositions in a 
scrapbook and by allowing them to illustrate these descriptions or 
stories by means of their own drawing or cutting or by suitable 
pictures. 

Importance of the position of the children. — The physical position 
of the children has much to do with the success of an exercise of this 
kind. Tradition seems to have decreed that there are but two 
possible arrangements for the children in the kindergarten to take. 
For all work with materials they must be seated at tables; for all 
other exercises they must be seated or standing in a ring. The 
position in the ring is a good one for the playing of games, but for 
free conversation, or story-telling, or singing, the gathering of the 
children into an informal group, near to and facing the teacher, is 
a much more natural and satisfactory arrangement. This group 
arrangement was seen in one or two kindergartens, but it is not 
general. 

STORIES USED IN THE KINDERGARTENS 

It happened that stories were heard in but three kindergartens 
during the weeks the schools were visited. Two of the stories heard 
are stories which appear in the course of study and are two of the 
best to be found there. One of these, the story of the ''Little Red 
Hen," is a good and simple story. The other, "Dust under the 
Rug," by Maud Lindsay, is one of the few modern fairy stories 
which is at all comparable to the old stories. In fact, so seldom 
does the modern fairy story escape being weak, sentimental, and 
thoroughly inartistic that the teacher is wise who keeps to the more 
wholesome field of traditional stories and folklore. The third of 



42 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

the stories heard, " Grandmother Gray," is an example of a guessing 
game put in story form. The grandmother brings to each of three 
children a present from her farm in the country. The children guess 
the nature of the gifts by asking questions about them. This 
feature is the main charm of the story and its chief reason for 
being. The play involved is good, but it does not need the story- 
setting. Especially should this type of story not be regarded as 
literature. It has none of the characteristics of the literary story 
and hence does not contribute to the realization of the purpose of 
story-telling in the kindergarten, which purpose is to make a begin- 
ning in the development of the appreciation of good Hterature. 

The course of study in literature. — The opportunity for observing 
the subject-matter and method in literature in the kindergartens 
was so limited that the following discussion of the printed course 
of study is resorted to as a means of presenting some suggestions 
that may have value. It is understood that the course of study 
criticized is no longer followed by the Richmond kindergartners, 
but it represents a type of procedure that is not uncommon. 

The course of study gives for each month a suggested list of 
stories from which choice may be made. The titles of these stories 
show that they have been selected with reference to the subject- 
matter for the month. Some of them were doubtless selected 
because they were stories about the particular topic for the month. 
The story of the "Three Little Kittens" in the September outline 
is an example. There are some advantages in thus correlating the 
literature with other parts of the program, if the stories selected 
meet the requirements of good literature for children. The story 
referred to is short, simple, suited in content and form to the needs 
and interests of young children. Used in September, it would 
doubtless enhance the interest in the general subject for the month 
— namely, "Pet Animals and Their Family Life." 

Correlation should not be a primary consideration in the selection 
of stories for the kindergarten. — Many of the stories in the course of 
study, selected because they relate to the general program, not only 
sacrifice literary values, but fail to accompHsh their chief purpose. 
Some of the stories for October, for example, were undoubtedly 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 43 

chosen because they present in imaginative form certain facts and 
phenomena of nature with which the October program is concerned. 
Among these stories are ''Baby Bud's Winter Clothes," "Wait and 
See," and " The Chestnut Boys." Instead of defining and enriching 
experience, such stories are liable to result in mental confusion, 
because little children have not had sufficient intimate contact with 
natural objects and phenomena to be able to appreciate stories 
about them. The teacher knows the facts which the story tells 
through its fanciful analogies, and so the story has meaning for her. 
She often fails to realize, however, that the children's experience 
with nature has, at best, been extremely limited and meager. 

A further objection to these nature stories is that they are 
sentimental and without character. They lack the objectivity and 
vigor which should characterize story material for little children. 

There are other stories in the course of study which were 
evidently selected because they expressed the underlying thought 
or ideal for the month. "Nahum Prince," under the topic "Patri- 
otism," is an example. Here again is an effort to present through 
the story ideals and conceptions which may appeal to the teacher, 
but which have no meaning for the child of kindergarten age. 

The stories told in the kindergarten should be selected primarily 
for their intrinsic values. If they correlate with other parts of the 
program, well and good, but this is by no means the important con- 
sideration. 

Folk and fairy tales the best source of stories for young children. — 
It is the general consensus of opinion of specialists in the study of 
literature for young children that the best material for the kinder- 
garten is to be found in the field of folk literature, the fairy tales 
that have stood the test of generations. The child from four to 
eight years of age is on about the same intellectual level as the folk 
who produced these tales; hence they make strong appeal to his 
interest and imagination. From the mass of material available, 
however, very careful selection should be made. The story must 
be simple, interesting in content, sound in organization, full of 
action, and it must have a satisfying ending. For a child this is 
synonjnnous with a happy ending. 



44 



THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 



A few examples of stories which fully meet these requirements, 
together with the collections in which they may be found are listed 
below. The last two of the stories named appear in the course of 
study. 



Name of Story 


Name of Collection 


Author 


Publisher 


The Three Billy Goats Gruff] 
The Story of the Pancake 1 
The Lad Who Went to thef 


East o' Ike Sun and 
West o' the Moon 


Gudrun Thome 
Thomsen 


Row-Peterson 


North Wind J 








The Story of the Three Little] 

Pigs 
The Johnny Cake J 


English Fairy Tales 


Joseph Jacobs 


Putnam 


The Shoemaker and the Elvesl 
Rumpelstilskin J 


Household Tales 


Grimm 


Macmillan 


The Little Red Hen 1 
The Three Bears J 


Stories to Tell to 
Children 


Sara Cone 
Bryant 


Houghton 



SUMMARY 

1. The daily program of the Richmond kindergartens does not, 
in general, make sufhcient provision for training in oral expression. 
The "morning talk" is often little more than a series of questions 
asked by the teacher and answered by one or two children. Such 
an exercise offers no incentive for expression. 

2. Good results in oral expression are obtained when children 
are allowed and encouraged to talk about objects and experiences 
that are of vital interest to them. The teacher should endeavor 
to create social situations which will furnish natural motive for 
free oral expression. Having secured this, she may gradually lead 
the children to correct and adequate forms of speech. 

3. A daily period devoted to conversation about subjects of real 
interest to the class serves to supplement and to organize experi- 
ence gained through other activities. This may lead in a natural 
fashion to group composition in the form of stories about pictures, 
descriptions of excursions, letters to absent playmates, etc. 

4. The social atmosphere, which is conducive to freedom in 
conversation, is best created by gathering the children into an in- 
formal group near to and facing the teacher. 

5. Two of the three stories which were told when the kinder- 
gartens were visited represented excellent choice when judged by 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 45 

the standard set forth in this section. The third could not be 
regarded as having value from the standpoint of literature. 

6. The stories listed in the course of study have been selected 
with reference to the subject-material of the program, with the 
result that literary values are sacrificed to correlation. 

7. The best story material for little children is to be found in 
the folk literature. From this extensive field only those stories 
should be selected for use in the school which are simple in form, 
interesting in content, full of action, sound in organization, and 
happy in their outcome. 

4. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

The plays and games seen in the kindergartens represented a 
desirable variety. There was in every case an evident attempt to 
maintain a good balance between the games requiring bodily 
activity and the quieter games. The balance would have been good 
if the active games had provided for freer and more vigorous exercise 
of the muscles and had been planned so that a larger number of 
children could have taken part at one time. The exercises for 
physical activity took the form of marching, skipping games, folk 
games, and imitative movements. 

Marching affords little freedom of movement. — It seems to be the 
general practice in these kindergartens to give from five to ten 
minutes a day to marching. The children form a long line and 
march about the room to music. Sometimes they clap or swing 
their arms as they march. This form of exercise is one of the 
traditional practices of the kindergarten which has little value 
beyond such training in rhythm as it affords. Marching does not 
give the freedom of movement and vigorous exercise which little 
children need. Each child has to regulate his step to the step of the 
child just ahead, else he will tread on his heels, or fall behind, and 
thereby leave a gap in the line. If he falls behind and tries to catch 
up, he loses his rhythm, and thus even this value of the exercise is 
jeopardized. 

More active rhythmic plays are needed. — Little children need to 
walk, run, skip, hop, clap their hands, swing their arms, and whirl 
about, and they need space in which to indulge in these spontaneous 



46 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

movements in order to get the full benefit from them. Many 
kindergartners are now using the time formerly given to formal 
marching to a variety of rhythmic plays involving these natural 
movements. Such plays are superior to the marching exercises in 
many ways. They give more rapid and vigorous exercise, more 
freedom and variety of movement, and hence greater opportunity 
for the development of physical control and grace. The steps and 
movements are those found in the folk games and dances. They 
afford, therefore, the best preparation for the learning of some of 
the simpler of these folk games. 

Free-movement play requires generous floor space. — It was sug- 
gested above that space is needed for exercise of this kind. More 
floor space for the purpose could be secured by pushing tables and 
chairs as near to the wall as possible and by requiring the children 
not taking part to stand where they are least in the way. If those 
not taking part are asked to stand together near the piano, it not 
only releases the floor space needed for those playing, but gives 
those not playing at the moment something definite to do while 
waiting their turn. The mere fact that they must leave their 
places in the ring and come to a certain definite place in the room, 
for a certain purpose, helps to concentrate attention and makes for 
order and control. It should be possible, in addition to using the 
floor space of the kindergarten room to advantage, to make some 
use of the ample hall space which is found in many of the buildings. 
If kindergartens and primary grades alike were to use the halls in 
this way more freely than they seem to do at present, the children 
would soon adjust themselves to the situation so that classwork need 
not be disturbed. 

Skipping games and folk dances. — Other forms of physical exer- 
cise which the kindergartens provide in addition to marching are 
skipping games, imitative movements, and folk games. The skip- 
ping games, such as skip tag, "How do you do, my partner ?" etc., 
are good so far as they go, but often only two children play at one 
time, so that the amount of exercise per child is slight. Further- 
more, these few games do not offer sufficient variety in steps and 
figures. The forward and side skip, the two-step, the hop-skip, are 
simple steps easily acquired by children of kindergarten age and, 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 47 

with the help of the piano accompamment, may be organized into 
simple and childlike dance figures. For example, one child starts 
the skip. At the sound of the triangle he takes the hand of another 
child and the two dance. When the triangle sounds again, the two 
separate and each finds another partner. The game may go on in 
this way until all are dancing or until eight, perhaps, are on the 
floor. These may then join hands and skip in a ring, to the right, 
then to the left, and finally to the center, ending the dance with a 
bow. As the children skip in couples, they may skip forward, each 
taking one hand of his partner, or sideways, each facing the other 
and joining two hands. The hands should not be crossed, however ; 
it restricts the movement unnecessarily. It will be readily seen 
that such a skipping game as one now being used in the kinder- 
gartens, "How do you do, my partner?" etc., may be modified to 
include the figures just described. This is but one of many possible 
figures which the ingenious kindergartner may devise to suit the 
abilities of her particular group of children. Some very usable 
dancing games may be found in two of the recent books — Dances 
and Games for Little Children, by Carohne Crawford (A. S. Barnes), 
and Old English and American Games, by Brown and Boyd (Saul 
Brothers, Chicago). 

The imitative movements seen were exercises in which one child, 
as leader, initiates some form of exercise to music, such as clapping, 
swinging the arms, tapping the foot, etc., the rest of the class 
imitating. This type of play was indulged in frequently. There is 
no objection to some play of this sort. It gives a needed variety 
perhaps. It has no values not included in the rhythmic play 
described above, however, and some of the time now given to it 
might more profitably be given to the forms of play which lead 
more directly to physical control and grace of movement. 

The few folk games observed were simple and childlike. The 
children played them easily and well. "Looby Loo " is an example. 

Ball games. — Very few ball games were seen. There are many 
rolling, bouncing, and catching games which afford excellent means 
for developing alertness and skill. The balls with which the 
kindergartens are equipped are too small for the kindergarten child 
to bounce and catch. He is not skilful enough to do this with one 



48 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

hand and so needs a ball that is the right size to be handled with 
both hands. The rubber ball six inches in diameter, referred to in 
the chapter on equipment, is the right size for this purpose. A good 
way to begin the bouncing and catching plays is for the teacher, 
standing in the middle of the ring, to bounce the ball to each of the 
children in turn. After a little skill has been gained a child may do 
this. Next, the play may take the triangular form, the leader 
bouncing the ball to a child, who bounces it to the child next to 
him, who then returns the ball to the leader; and in this way more 
complex forms may gradually be developed, the suggestions often 
coming from the children themselves. While children have to 
wait their turn in plays of this kind, their attention is held through 
interest in seeing whether each child remembers just what he is 
to do with the ball. 

Games of skill. — The sense plays which were seen were good. 
Even children of kindergarten age enjoy testing their power and 
ability to discriminate. These plays afford them the opportunity 
to discriminate forms, colors, and sounds. The two or three 
competitive games observed were also excellent. One was a race 
game in which two children carried a number of blocks, one at a 
time, from one side of the room to the other. The child who got 
the blocks over first was, of course, the winner. While competition 
should not be a prominent element in the games of children so 
young, such simple forms of competition as this seem to lend a 
spirit to the games which is very satisfying, especially to children 
who see older brothers and sisters engaging in competitive games 
of one sort or another. 

Some forms of play in the course of study. — The types of games 
observed in the kindergartens were the same as those listed in the 
printed course of study. The latter names two specific plays, 
however, of a type not observed — namely, dramatization of the 
rabbit and imitation of growing flowers. Possibly games of this 
sort are now never seen in the Richmond kindergartens, but for 
the sake of others who may read this report the following may be 
said: 

Games of this kind very often represent an effort to secure 
correlation which results in the selection of a poor medium of 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 49 

expression for the ideas involved. A child is not able to reproduce 
the movements of such an animal as a rabbit. He would not be 
likely to attempt it unless the suggestion in the first instance came 
from the teacherf Nor can he represent with any likeness to truth 
the growing flower. Such unnatural forms of play are easily 
imposed upon children because children are docile, eager to be 
active in any way, and delighted to gain the teacher's commenda- 
tion. This very readiness on the part of children to accept what 
is offered, however poor it may be, makes it doubly important for 
the teacher to protect them from unprofitable forms of activity. 
As suggested in an earlier chapter, the child's interest in plants and 
animals should be encouraged through opportunities to observe 
and care for them. His desire to express ideas concerning these 
natural objects may be satisfied through the mediums of drawing, 
modeling, and language. 

Subjects for dramatic expression, on the other hand, should be 
selected almost entirely from the realm of social Ufe. Studies of 
children's spontaneous imitations show that 85 per cent of them are 
imitations of human activities. As has been noted in a previous 
chapter, the children's way of learning about the activities going 
on around them is to reproduce these activities in imitative and 
dramatic play. And so we see them playing at mother, father, 
store-keeper, driver, fireman, etc. The kindergartner should 
further this effort of the children to interpret experience by giving 
them opportunity to carry on these plays in connection with their 
manual occupations, and by helping them to give fuller and truer 
expression to the ideas and relations involved. 

SUMMARY 

1. A variety of well-selected games are used in the kinder- 
gartens, but there is, in general, too much time given to formal 
marching exercises and too little time to rhythmic plays which 
call for free, varied, and vigorous activity. 

2. The floor space needed for free rhythmic plays in the class- 
room could be secured by moving the tables close to the walls. 
When more space is needed, the large halls could be utilized more 
fully than they are at present. 



50 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

3. Simple dances having movements and figures similar to those 
characteristic of the folk games may be readily developed from the 
informal rhythmic play advocated. Such dancing plays are better 
adapted to the needs of kindergarten children than all but the 
simplest of the folk games. 

4. The balls with which the kindergartens are equipped are 
too small. Larger ones are needed that advantage may be taken 
of the many ball games which develop skill and control on the part 
of the children. 

5. Adequate provision is made for other games of skill. 

6. The course of study lists among its games representations of 
rabbits and growing flowers. These are unnatural forms of play 
which are sometimes imposed by the teachers in an effort to secure 
correlation. 

5. MUSIC 

Important factors in the child's musical training. — The factors 
which may contribute to the child's musical education at the 
kindergarten period are the development of the instinct for rhythm, 
the training of the singing voice, and the opportunity to listen to 
suitable music, both vocal and instrumental. 

Rhythm is fundamental and should be introduced through 
rhythmic activities of the whole body, such as are afforded by 
walking, skipping, running, hopping, swinging, clapping, whirling, 
etc., in time to music. This type of play has been discussed in a 
previous section and needs no further comment here. 

The training of the children's voices in the Richmond kinder- 
gartens is provided for through the singing of rote songs. The 
program provides also for their hearing some good and suitable 
piano music and also both vocal and instrumental music through 
the medium of the victrola. Singing is the only phase of the 
children's musical training which needs to be discussed at this time. 

Singing a part of the daily program.- — The singing of songs is a 
part of every day's program. In some schools the children sing 
with pleasure and with good tone quaUty, In others the voices 
are somewhat harsh and the response rather mechanical. The 
quaHty and accuracy of the teacher's singing voice and her ability 
at the piano are important factors in the problem. Other sig- 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 51 

nificant elements which affect the result are (i) the choice of songs; 
(2) definite training in tone production; and (3) the position of 
the children during the singing period. 

The choice of songs. — ^The songs used in the various kinder- 
gartens, while good in themselves, are often too long, many of them 
having three stanzas and few less than two. When the songs used 
are so k)ng, the tendency of the teacher is to focus attention and 
effort on teaching the words, to the neglect of the far more important 
elements — musical tone and accurate pitch. Other songs are not 
only long, but very difficult to sing. ''The Blacksmith," and 
"I Am the Little New Year" are examples. Doubtless one 
reason for the selection of some of these long and difficult songs 
is that they give satisfactory expression to the seasonal interests or 
relate to the other subjects of the program. While it is often 
desirable to use songs which do give poetic and musical expression 
to some of the central ideas and interests of the program, other 
important considerations should not be sacrificed to this end. 

The present-day demand is for shorter, simpler, more childlike 
songs, suited in range to the young child's voice. Songs of one or 
two hues are appearing in the recent books and are given the 
preference by such musical authorities as Calvin B. Cady and Miss 
Eleanor Smith. Neidlinger was the first to compose and present 
these songlets in his volume Small Songs for Small Singers. Among 
the best of the more recent books are Songs of a Little Child's Day, 
by Smith and Poulsson; The Song Primer, by Alys Bentley; 
Child Land in Song and Rhythm, by Jones and Barbour, and the 
Congdon Music Primer. 

Training in tone production. — Parallel with the teaching of a few 
simple songs there should be some definite work in ear-training and 
voice-placing. Tone plays have proved of special value as means 
to this end. Through them drill may be given in tone-matching, 
in imitation of simple musical intervals and of the scale. Imitations 
of bells, whistles, horns, the sound of the violin, the sound of the 
wind, certain animal sounds, etc., give experience in tone-matching. 
Call-and-answer plays and echo plays give practice in imitation 
of intervals. Play ideas, such as descending a ladder, running 
down hill, etc., give motive for scale exercises. No work of this 



52 THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 

kind was observed in the Richmond kindergartens. The children 
sang one song after another with practically no criticism from the 
teacher and little apparent effort toward securing improvement. 
There is no doubt that a more careful selection of songs, with 
some attention to tone plays, of the kind indicated, would do much 
toward securing more interest in singing and better singing than 
now exists in some of the kindergartens. 

The position of the children. — A third factor to be considered is 
the position of the children during the singing period. In the 
schools observed the children, with the exception of those in one 
kindergarten, were either seated or standing in a ring. Better 
results would be obtained if the children were gathered into a group 
standing near the piano where they could hear the teacher easily. 
They would realize then that this was the time primarily for sing- 
ing. When standing close together and near the piano, they get 
the effect of the blending of the voices; the teacher can easily 
place the monotones near her or near a child whose voice is true; 
a small choir may be assembled quickly for small-group singing, etc. 
Experience has shown that a short period of relatively intensive 
work of this kind brings better results than the more common 
practice which distributes the singing through the morning. The 
child's attention is centered on singing rather than divided between 
singing and play. It is possible, and often desirable, to interrupt 
the singing for the purpose of giving dramatic expression to the 
song, after which the children may return to their position near the 
piano. It is not suggested that there should be no singing except 
at this time. Songs learned at this time may sometimes be used 
to advantage at other times, in connection with the games or as 
introductory to, or closing, the school day. 

SUMMARY 

1. The development of the instinct for rhythm, the training 
of the singing voice, and the opportunity to hear suitable music 
are the factors which contribute to the musical training of 
children at the kindergarten period. 

2. The singing in the kindergartens is not uniformly good, 
owing in part to the kind of songs which are taught, insufficient 



CURRICULUM AND METHODS OF KINDERGARTEN 53 

attention to ear-training and voice-placing, and the position of the 
children during the singing period. 

3. The songs are generally too long and many of them very 
difficult to sing. Authorities on children's songs advocate very 
short, simple songs, carefully selected with reference to the range 
of the young child's voice. 

4. No special exercises for ear-training and tone production 
were observed in the kindergartens. This is a serious omission. 

5. Better results would be obtained by devoting a short period 
daily to the singing of songs and tone plays, with the children 
standing near the piano during the exercise. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The brief list of references which are here given may serve to 
reinforce in fuller statement some phases of the foregoing discussion. 
Most of the suggested reading is to be found in educational journals 
and bulletins. There are a few references to specific chapters in 
books on elementary education. The titles of the articles and 
chapters referred to indicate with sufficient clearness their bearing 
upon the material of this report, 

Dewey, John. The School and Society (revised edition), chapter v, "Froebel's 
Educational Principles." Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 

Gesell, A. L. and B. C. The Normal Child and Primary Education, chapters on 
"Language," "Handwork," "Literature," "Reading," "Nature-Study," 
"Busy Work," "Outdoor Play," "Discipline," "FormaUsm," and "Child 
PersonaUty." Boston: Ginn & Co. 

Hill, Mary D. "The Educational Values Which the Child Carries Over from 
the Kindergarten into the Primary Grades," Kindergarten and First Grade, 
November, 1916. 

Hill, Patty S. "Some Conservative and Progressive Phases of Kindergarten 
Education," National Society for the Scientific Study of Education, Sixth 
Yearbook, Part II. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 

MacClintock, Porter Lander. Literature in the Elementary School, chapters on 
"Story," "The Choice of Stories," "Folk-Tale and Fairy Story." Chi- 
cago: The University of Chicago Press. 

Palmer, Luella A. "Adjustment between Kindergarten and First Grade," 
U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 191 5, No. 4. 

. "Practical Means of Unifying the Work of Kindergarten and Pri- 
mary Grades," Kindergarten and First Grade, January, 1917. 

. "Some Reconstructive Movements within the Kindergarten," 



Psychological Clinic, June, 1913. 

Sies, Alice Corbin. "Problems in Sensory-Motor Education Involving the 
Selection of Play Materials and Apparatus for Small Children," Kinder- 
garten and First Grade, February, 19 16. 

Temple, Alice. "The Occupations of the Kindergarten," Elementary School 
Teacher, April, 1909. 

"The Course of Study in Community Life, History, and Civics in the Uni- 
versity Elementary School, the University of Chicago," Elementary 
School Journal, February, 191 7. 

54 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Advantages of kindergarten training, 24. 
Afternoon hours: present use of, 18-19; 

suggested use of, 20-21. 
Age: of admission, 2; of promotion, 2. 
Automatic response, 6, 34. 

Ball games, 47-48. 

Balls, 12, 13. 

Bentley, Alys, 51. 

Bibliography, 54. 

Blocks and boards, 10, 11, 13. 

Board of education and summer study, 
16. 

Brown and Boyd, 47. 

Building exercise: criticized, 33-34; 

described, 32-33. 

Cady, Calvin B., 51. 

Care of animals, 9. 

Community buildings, 37. 

Composition, 40; motive for, 41. 

Conferences with teachers, v, 27. 

Congdon music primer, 51. 

Control, methods of, 5-6. 

Correlation, 42. 

Course of study: continuity in, 21, 23; 
forms of play in, 48; not representa- 
tive, 27; printed — reference to, v; 
subject-matter of, 30. 

Crawford, Caroline, 47. 

Curriculum and methods, 27-53; lan- 
guage and literature, 38-45; manual 
activities, 31-38; music, 50-53; physi- 
cal activities, 45-50; subject-matter 
and methods, 27-31. 

Devices, artificial, ^$. 

Disadvantages of kindergarten training, 

24. 

Dolls, 12. 

Dramatic play, 48. 

Drawing: design, 37; lesson criticized, 
35-36; and lesson described, 34-35. 

Educative occupations needed in first 
grade, 25. 



Enrolment, 2. 

Equipment, 8-14; furniture, 8, 13; 
materials for play and handwork, 10- 
12; musical instruments, 9, 13; pic- 
tures, 9; plants and animals, 9; present 
needs, 13. 

First grade and kindergarten: advantages 
and disadvantages of kindergarten 
training, 24; continuity in course of 
study lacking, 23; first-grade children 
need educative occupations and more 
play, 25. 

Folk and fairy tales, 43. 
Folk games, 46, 47. 
Furniture, 8, 13. 

Games: ball, 47; of skill, 48; skipping, 
46. 

Gardening, 9. 

Grocery store, building and equipping of, 
36. 

Habits: of automatic response, 5-6; of 

independence, obedience, etc., 5. 
Hibberd School, 20. 

History of kindergarten in Richmond, 
1-2. 

Home visiting, 19. 

Imitative movements, 47. 

Interdependence and co-operation, ideals 
of, 29. 

Jones and Barbour, 51. 

Kindergarten and first grade: advan- 
tages of kindergarten training, 24; 
continuity in course of study, 23; 
disadvantages of kindergarten train- 
ing, 24-25; relation between, 23-26. 

Kindergarten children: dependent in 
handwork, 24; independent in distribut- 
ing materials, etc., 5, 24; obedient, 
orderly, etc., 5. 

Kindergartens, the, 1-7; enrolment in, 
2; extent of, in Indiana, i; history of, 
in Richmond, 1-2; nationalities repre- 
sented, 3. 



57 



58 



THE KINDERGARTENS OF RICHMOND, INDIANA 



Kinderhaus, 12, 13, 36. 

Language and literature, 38-45; teacher's 
contribution to, 40; time given to, 38. 
Literature, course of study in, 42. 

Manual activities, 31-38; building exer- 
cise criticized, 33-34; building exercise 
described, 32-33; drawing lesson 
criticized, 35-36; drawing lesson de- 
scribed, 34-35; related to subject- 
matter, 31. 

Manual arts supervisor, conferences 
with, V. 

Marching, 45. 

Materials for play and handwork, 10-12, 
13- 

Methods, curriculum and, 27-53. 

Motive: kinderhaus supplies, 36; for 
design, 37; lack of, ^y, strong, 37; 
to please teacher, 33. 

Music, 50-53; choice of songs, 51; sing- 
ing, 50; training in tone production, 
52. 

Musical Education, factors in, 50. 

Musical instruments, 12, 13. 

Nationalities represented in kinder- 
garten, 3. 

Nature study, basis of, 9. 

New materials substituted for traditional, 
12. 

Oral expression: an exercise in, 39; 

methods of securing, 39-40. 
Organization of subject-matter, 28-30. 

Parent-Teachers' Association, 20. 

Physical activities, 45-50; ball games, 47 
dramatic plays, 48; games of skill, 48 
marching, 45; rhythmic plays, 45 
skipping games and folk dances, 46. 

Pictures, 9. 

Projects: group, 34; objective, 36-37. 

Prospective teachers, training of, 17. 



Rhythmic plays, 45; need generous floor 
space, 46; superior to marching, 46. 

Salary schedule: compared with twenty- 
eight cities, 17; relatively good in 
Richmond, 16; same as that of ele- 
mentary teachers, 18. 

Seating of the children, 8. 

Singing: in daily program, 50; position 
of children for, 52. 

Skipping games and folk dances, 46. 

Songs, choice of, 51. 

Starr school, 18. 

Stories: correlation not primary con- 
sideration, 42; examples of good 
stories, 44; folk and fairy tales best 
source, 43; nature stories, 43 ; selected 
for intrinsic value, 43; used in kinder- 
garten, 41. 

Subject-matter: "Lights," 29; organiza- 
tion of, criticized, 28; organization 
through projects, 36-37; present prac- 
tice in selection of, 29-30; the trades, 
27. 

Subject-matter and methods, 27-31. 

Summer study, 16. 

Supervision needed, 17. 

Supplies, annual cost of, 13. 

Survey material, how gathered, v. 

Teachers, 15-22; compared to first-grade 
teachers, 15; need of summer study, 
16; prospective teachers, 17; training 
and experience, 15; use of afternoon 
hours, 18-21. 

Tone production, 51-52. 

Toys, 12, 13. 

Trades as subject-matter, 27. 

Traditional materials, 10, 11. 

Vaile kindergarten, 3. 
Visits to the schools, v, 27. 

Whitewater school, 3, 20. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL 
MONOGRAPHS 

Edited in conjunction with The School Review and 
The Elementary School Journal 



Published by THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 



VOL. I 

Monograph No. 1 

Studies of Elementary-School Reading through Standardized 
Tests. By William Scott Gray, Ph.D., Instructor in Educa- 
tion and Dean of the College of Education, University of Chicago. 
Pp. viu-{-ij8. Price $i.oo. 



Monograph No. 2 

An Experimental Study in the Psychology of Reading. By 
William A. Schmidt, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University 
of Oklahoma. Pp. iv-\-i26. Price $o.yj. 



Monograph No. 3 

The Administration of Secondary - School Units. By 
Leonard V. Koos, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of 
Washington. Pp. x-\-ig4. Price $i.oo. 



Monograph No. 4 

Experimental Studies in Arithmetic. By George S. Counts, 
Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of Delaware. Pp. 
iv-\-i28. Price $o.'/5. 




019 822 745 6 
Monograph No. 5 

Types of Reading Ability as Exhibited through Tests and 
Laboratory Experiments. An Investigation Subsidized by the 
General Education Board. By Clarence Truman Gray, Ph.D., 
Adjunct Professor of University of Texas. Pp. xiv-\-ig6. 
Price $i.2j. 

Monograph No. 6 

Survey of the Kindergartens of Richmond, Indiana. By 
Alice Temple, Ed.B. Pp. iv+128. Price $0.40. 



Subscription rates have been arranged for all the publications. If 
the journals are taken separately, the price of subscription is $1.50 each. 
If the monographs are taken by the volume, each volume to contain 
approximately one thousand pages, the subscription price will be $5.00 
with an additional cost of 50 cents for postage. A combination of all three 
publications is offered for $6.00 plus 50 cents for postage on the 
monographs. 



